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Old Jan 15, 2014 | 10:51 PM
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Default Stupid newbie question on history

You'll probably think this is the lamest question ever, but it seems to be a bone of contention with the folks I know. If it is answered elsewhere on the forums, please direct me there and I apologize for not finding it. But, I have to ask, what is the correct pronunciation of "Jaguar?" I realize there may be differences due to which continent we may be from, but I'd like to know what the consensus is.

Is it... jag you are?

Jag wire?

Jag why er?

Jag whar? (my vote)

And does jag rhyme with tag, or sound like jaig?

Thanks
 
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Old Jan 16, 2014 | 12:11 AM
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NOT Jag-wire. I think everyone can agree on that.

Most yanks say Jag-wahr. When they're not saying Jag-wire, that is. Gah, how grating!

The rest of the world seems to like the three syllable pronunciation, something like Jag-you-are....but with the last two spoken very quickly and sounding more like Jag-you-uhr.


Cheers
DD
 
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Old Jan 16, 2014 | 04:52 AM
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It's a bit like asking how to say Paris.

(BTW, for some, somewhat oddly, it's not immediately assumed that Paris implies France unless it clearly cannot.)
 
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Old Jan 16, 2014 | 05:19 AM
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Not a lame question at all,have wondered myself how some get Jag Waa out of JAGUAR. But to be honest we butcher the english language here.

Here in Australia it is JAG-U-R (pronounced quickly) and the UK the same it appears. You could go with Jeremy Clarkeson.. warm-up the Jaggggg!

Is it... jag you are? Yes..here anyway
Jag wire? No. never heard that

Jag why er? No

Jag whar? (my vote) American.

And does jag rhyme with tag, or sound like jaig? It's Tag here.


Welcome to the forum and I hope find more helpful replies to posts than the above
 
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Old Jan 16, 2014 | 05:20 AM
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Originally Posted by Gazoo2
.......... what is the correct pronunciation of "Jaguar?"
An Englishman like me, pronounces it the same as 49 secs into this:


And several further examples in this summary of the XJ6 and XJ12:


Regardless of how you pronounce it, the cars are always worth a look.

Graham
 
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Old Jan 17, 2014 | 04:11 AM
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Regardless of how you pronounce it, the cars are always worth a look.

Yep,that Ad was worth a look. I think I should buy one after seeing that. I see you have a little green smudge were it says you have been 'thanked' 3 million times or so. It says I can skype you Graham, we could hear you say Jaguar and is that a new feature?
 
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Old Jan 17, 2014 | 05:06 AM
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And in the event that any VDP owners are wondering.....

Yes, the "s" in Vanden Plas IS pronounced


Cheers
DD
 
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Old Jan 17, 2014 | 05:49 AM
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Neil,

So the usual Australian pronunciation is the same as the US. The only example I've heard is Mark Webber when he was driving for Jaguar and I seem to recall he made it sound like Jag-yer.

The 'little green smudge' is a recent addition but not fully reliable yet. Although I have Skype configured to start whenever I start Windows, availability through the forum is still intermittent.

Graham
 
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Old Jan 17, 2014 | 04:49 PM
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Thanks folks. I spent a good hour viewing the various videos that the links led to, which was quite entertaining and interesting. And through all that, the pronunciation was clearly Jag U ehr or Jag U uhr. As you note, North America seems to be fixed on Jag whar. So now I know the correct answer.

On the Vanden Plas, can someone explain who, what, or where Vanden Plas is?
 
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Old Jan 17, 2014 | 05:12 PM
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Here's some info Doug posted in 2009!

Originally Posted by Doug
Here's some reading on the subject from:

AROnline: Made in Britain...

The Vanden Plas name
Why is Vanden Plas often abbreviated to "VDP" (rather than just VP)? What does it actually mean? And how should the name be pronounced? These questions can be answered (or at least illuminated) by delving into the origins of the name.

Firstly, to dispel some fairly common misconceptions, the name is not French, German or even Dutch, but Flemish, hailing from the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium. In plain Dutch it would have been spelled as "van den Plas" (and alphabetically sorted under 'P'). However, Flemish capitalises the V (sorting it under 'V'), and also contracts "Van den Plas" to "Vanden Plas" and sometimes even to "Vandenplas". Incidentally, in modern Dutch usage one would say "van der plas", but Flemish family names are never updated to reflect more modern spelling (whereas there used to be a tendency to do this in Holland).

Next, the meaning. In his book "Vanden Plas – Coachbuilders", Brian Smith gives the literal translation as "of the pond". "Plas" is indeed the Dutch for pond, so this is probably correct, but it should be noted that it is also used for any body of water from a puddle upwards. For instance, the Dutch for "to pee" is "een plas doen", spilt water would be described as "plas" on the floor, and even the ocean is sometimes referred to as "de grote plas" (the great ....). However, there is a further possiblilty that should not be dismissed: in a family name it could very well be a corruption of a similar-sounding word with an entirely different meaning...

Finally, the pronunciation. Many people in English-speaking countries wrongly assume that the final 's' is silent, pronouncing the name as "Vanden Plah". The correct pronounciation (both in Flemish and in plain Dutch) has a rather sharp 's' at the end, as in the English word "kiss". Both 'a' vowels in the name are pronounced the same way, as in the English colloquialism "yah", so phonetically we should say something like "Vahnden Plahs". However, Flemish will in this case put a slight stress on the first syllable of "Vanden", whereas plain Dutch would stress only the "Plas" quite heavily.

Many thanks to Hendrik-Jan Thomassen, Bert Vijn and Erik Nooij for their contributions on this topic
 
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Old Jan 17, 2014 | 06:31 PM
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Originally Posted by Gazoo2
On the Vanden Plas, can someone explain who, what, or where Vanden Plas is?
Perhaps it should be pointed out that "Vanden Plas" was inherited by Jaguar as part of their acquisition and absorption of Daimler, where the term was reserved for their absolute top-shelf custom coachbuilding models. As applied to the long wheelbase 5.3L EFI V12 Daimler, it was the ultimate snob put-down for lesser models like Sovereign, Double Six and the even poorer class Jaguar XJ12 on which they were all based.

Our S2 had the full treatment - burnished gold body, 4 bucket seating with cocktail cab and folding table - the ultimate head-turner.

Cheers!!!
 
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Old Jan 17, 2014 | 06:36 PM
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Originally Posted by Gazoo2
As you note, North America seems to be fixed on Jag whar.

I really think it's more Jag-wahr, but maybe it's just me!

I think the reason Americans seldom use the three syllable pronunciation is fear that it will comes off as an affectation. Except, of course, those who say Jag-wire. They simply don't know how to read.

All that said, the overwhelming majority simply say "Jag". :-)

Cheers
DD
 
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Old Jan 17, 2014 | 09:18 PM
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Originally Posted by Gazoo2
Thanks folks. I spent a good hour viewing the various videos that the links led to, which was quite entertaining and interesting. And through all that, the pronunciation was clearly Jag U ehr or Jag U uhr. As you note, North America seems to be fixed on Jag whar. So now I know the correct answer.

On the Vanden Plas, can someone explain who, what, or where Vanden Plas is?
If you consider that MEXICO is on the NORTH AMERICAN Continent then....

"Hah-GUAR"

is also CORRECT. (and they are indigenous to the region)

bob gauff
 
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Old Jan 17, 2014 | 09:18 PM
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Hmm, so it would seem the question is "why did Daimler choose to name it's finest cars as being 'of the pond' ?" Interesting stuff.
 
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Old Jan 17, 2014 | 09:45 PM
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Does everybody agree on this prounciation?

Merriam-Webster Pronunciation

(I don't)
 
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Old Jan 17, 2014 | 10:13 PM
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Not me either.
 
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Old Jan 18, 2014 | 10:06 PM
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Nor me. That's back to the Jag waa

And Graham,no I disagree. We pronounce it as per the Ads as Jag u r .

What I came away with was that VDP could mean a 'small puddle of pee' which doesn't exude much elegance at all.
 
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Old Jan 19, 2014 | 03:42 AM
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Originally Posted by Mikey
Does everybody agree on this prounciation?

Merriam-Webster Pronunciation

(I don't)
I wouldn't try that out if you visit the Jaguar factory at Castle Bromwich.

Which leads to another difference. There's an otherwise excellent US documentary on the production of the XK where they insist on pronouncing the 'w' in Bromwich.

The same documentary also has subtitles for one of the British production line workers!

Graham
 

Last edited by GGG; Jan 19, 2014 at 07:13 AM.
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Old Jan 19, 2014 | 05:32 AM
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Originally Posted by Mikey
Does everybody agree on this prounciation?

Merriam-Webster Pronunciation

(I don't)



Merriam's audio is the American-esque pronunciation. Two syllables. They write it ja-gwar (which I write as jag-wahr) but notice they do also show the three syllable variants.

Cheers
DD
 
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Old Jan 19, 2014 | 05:34 AM
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Originally Posted by Gippsland
Nor me. That's back to the Jag waa

No, not really. The audio demonstration very clearly has the "r" at the end !


Cheers
DD
 
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